YOLOv4 with Deformable-Embedding-Transformer Feature Extractor for Exact Object Detection in Aerial Imagery

The deep learning method for natural-image object detection tasks has made tremendous progress in recent decades. However, due to multiscale targets, complex backgrounds, and high-scale small targets, methods from the field of natural images frequently fail to produce satisfactory results when applied to aerial images. To address these problems, we proposed the DET-YOLO enhancement based on YOLOv4. Initially, we employed a vision transformer to acquire highly effective global information extraction capabilities. In the transformer, we proposed deformable embedding instead of linear embedding and a full convolution feedforward network (FCFN) instead of a feedforward network in order to reduce the feature loss caused by cutting in the embedding process and improve the spatial feature extraction capability. Second, for improved multiscale feature fusion in the neck, we employed a depth direction separable deformable pyramid module (DSDP) rather than a feature pyramid network. Experiments on the DOTA, RSOD, and UCAS-AOD datasets demonstrated that our method’s average accuracy (mAP) values reached 0.728, 0.952, and 0.945, respectively, which were comparable to the existing state-of-the-art methods.